


don't open doors alone

by galaxyksj



Series: kitten joong ☆°•~ [12]
Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Kitten hybrid hongjoong, Misunderstandings, caregiver seonghwa, hongjoong is young and still learning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:41:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28324764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/galaxyksj/pseuds/galaxyksj
Summary: seonghwa gets called to an unexpected meeting- causing hongjoong to stay home alone, but what happens when seonghwa comes home in a bad mood and (accidentally) takes it out on the kitten?
Relationships: Kim Hongjoong/Park Seonghwa
Series: kitten joong ☆°•~ [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2027993
Comments: 12
Kudos: 85





	don't open doors alone

**Author's Note:**

> requested by: @mytinyrosestay ❤❤

It was one of those absolutely rare moments that left seonghwa feeling more anxious and worrisome than usual- leaving hongjoong alone at home.

granted it wasn't anyone's fault (but his boss, seonghwa may add) as he decided to have an unexpected meeting planned; seonghwa frantically calling any of his friends to see if they are available to come and watch his kitten. 

unfortunately, everyone seemed to be busy and having their own stuff to tend to; leaving the older with no choice but to leave the kitten home alone- for the first time, may he also add.

he felt worried as hongjoong didnt know how to use the phone if anything happens, and he just started getting the hang of opening doors; but his hands still haven't fully grasped the idea of turning and pulling.

hongjoong, on the other hand, felt nervous to be home alone. he even begins to throw the smallest bit of tantrum as he begs for seonghwa to bring his sannie hyung here- the tantrum was quickly shut down as the kitten sees the older looking stressed as he runs around the house to make himself look presentable.

as he takes a breath while slipping on his shoes, he was going down his imaginary checklist as he was explaining to the kitten what is happening.

"hwa has to go to a meeting, and all your hyungs are busy, so my kitten is gonna be home by himself. I know that sounds a little scary but I need you to be a very good boy. dont touch anything that you know I wouldn't let you touch. dont try to open the front door, and don't answer the door for anybody unless it's your hwa or one of your hyungs, okay, baby?"

hongjoong stares up at seonghwa, blinking in confusion. he barely registered the first sentence. where is hwa going?

"no 'eave, hwa" he paws gently at his arm

seonghwa sighs in defeat "I'm sorry, baby." he kisses his forehead softly "but hwa has to go. I shouldn't be too long, though. please promise me to be a good kitten?"

hongjoong nods as he smiles- he understood that part crystal clear. seonghwa smiles in response, standing up from the couch to grab his necessities.

"alright, baby. I'll be back later, okay?" he presses another kiss to his kittens forehead "you have some bottles in the fridge if you get hungry, okay?"

the kitten nods as he runs into seonghwa's chest, wrapping his arms around the elder "I goo' boy, hwa"

seonghwa returns the hug, earning himself whines in protest when he unravels the pair of small arms around his waist. "I love you, baby. be good"

hongjoong watches as seonghwa closes and locks the front door. he pads to the living room window, watching as the older backs out of the driveway; his car disappears down the road.

the kitten let's out a small whine pawing at the glass, then turns around to the quiet and empty living room. he doesn't like how eerily quiet it is, making him feel uneasy. the house is rarely ever this quiet- even at night or when hes taking a nap. seonghwa is always there to make some noise, which always lulls the kitten to feel safe.

the kitten sniffles, feeling his eyes become watery "hwa..." he mumbles, shaking his head in defeat. he knows hwa isn't here. he just doesn't like to be alone.

\-----------

hongjoong ends up taking a little nap, making him feel more energized. he spends the next few minutes trying to open the refrigerator door to retrieve one of his bottles- clapping in excitement when he achieves the smallest task.

he takes a moment to look out the window, he knows it's getting late from the sky becoming dark; the sun visibly setting behind the trees.

he waddles over to his spot on the floor, nestled in between his blankets while contently drinking from his bottle. it's still too quiet that to his advantage, he can hear a car door slamming shut followed by the sound of footsteps gaining closer.

_hwa is home!_

the kitten lets out a small gasp, doing his best to push the tangled blankets off his frame just as he hears the front door begin to open. the younger runs up to the older, bouncing on the balls of his feet as he does his best to shower his hwa with affection.

the kitten, however, doesn't notice the drained expression from seonghwa's eyes.

_'what a day today was...'_ seonghwa thought. first he ends up arriving at the meeting late, then he realizes he forgot his wallet so he couldn't buy anything to at least eat- and to top it all off, his boss wasn't too fond of the presentation he had been working very hard on. poor seonghwa watched as the rest of his coworkers left a little early while he was stuck at his desk having to restart his presentation from scratch. so to say, seonghwa was not in the best mood as of now.

he leaves the office with the feeling of a breakdown bubbling in his chest, but hides it as he's not in the mood to talk to anyone to explain why he's crying. once he pulls up to the driveway, he's suddenly hit with the realization that his kitten had been by himself practically all day. he doesn't know what mood hes going to be in- is he gonna be in the clingy, nonverbal mood? or in the excited too over-the-top mood?

don't get him wrong, seonghwa absolutely adores and cherishes his kitten, but today just wasn't a good day; and he's not in the mood to do anything but just sleep and maybe let out a few tears while he's at it.

when he makes his way to the front door, he hears the familiar jingle of bells running towards the door. seonghwa internally groans when he opens the door and is met with an overly excited kitten. the older sighs, not fully paying attention to what the kitten is saying. he knows that once hongjoong is in this loud and hyper mood, it takes forever to get him to calm down.

_and seonghwa is just not in the mood._

hongjoong can sometimes sense when seonghwa isn't in the best of moods, but being away from him for a whole day; that knowledge is thrown out the window as he desperately tries to hug his hwa.

seonghwa shakes him off feeling slightly agitated and wanting to be left alone. "hongjoong! _please_! hwa needs some time alone right now!"

he hates the way he can see the kittens ears fold down, big doe eyes turning glossy as he tries to reach out for his hwa again; slowly becoming aware of the mood that he is in.

'mi' my hwa..." he mumbles, stepping closer to the older, but gets shut down when hwa makes his way past him and into the bedroom.

"leave hwa alone, okay? he needs to be alone right now" the older tries his best not to snap, but it unintentionally slips out, watching as hongjoong lowers his arms. with a huff of annoyance, seonghwa closes the bedroom door a little too harshly and flops onto the bed. he feels guilt creep into his mind at the way he snapped at hongjoong.

the kitten, however, shuts down at the rejection his hwa has given him. his knees hit the floor too harshly- not caring about how much it hurts as the pain of seonghwa being mean to him stings more. he can't control the loud mewl-like whimpers that leave his throat as he makes grabby hands at the door.

why was hwa being mean to him? he was so excited to tell hwa what a big boy he was today and how he followed all his rules, but all that flew out the window once hwa rejected one of his hugs. _and hwa never rejects his affection_.

in the young kitten's mindset, seonghwa was tired of him and wanted nothing to do with him anymore. was he tired of the kitten always taking his energy away? did he simply not want him anymore?

"-wa..." he meekly mumbled, his voice wet as he feels fat tears roll down his cheek. he wasn't in the mood to play or eat or do anything, so he curled in on himself; the idea of drinking his bottle long gone out from his head. he could have just crawled up onto the couch, but the poor kitten was to afraid to even move. he didn't want to make any noise that could further upset his hwa.

with his tail held securely in his hands, the kitten fell into a dreamless sleep- the feeling of his tears rolling down distracting him from his hiccupped sobs.

\----------

seonghwa woke up in a pitch dark room, not even being able to see outside the window; the all too familiar pressure from his bladder waking him up from his deep sleep. 

_'how long did i sleep?'_ he thought to himself as he pushes the covers off himself, navigating his way towards the bathroom. he can't tell if the pain in his stomach is a sign that he's hungry or he just to desperately need to empty his bladder. he takes the ladder, for not even a second later, he felt the light grumble of his stomach echo through the quiet room.

once he's done in the bathroom, he heads for the kitchen, doing his best to rub the sleep out of his eyes; but stops momentarily when he hears faint mewls coming from the kitchen. walking closer he can see the light is also on. in his sleepy haze, he is taken back. why is the kitchen light on? but the sounds of mewls and whimpers make him quicken his pace at the owner of said sounds.

hongjoong.

he feels utterly terrible as he realizes he left hongjoong alone since this morning, and when he came home, he yelled at him. _stupid_ he thinks _so so stupid._ how could he treat his poor little kitten so poorly? that was one thing he's always promised himself- to never get mad at hongjoong and have lots of patience. he feels like an idiot for going against his own words. he didn't mean to yell at the kitten, he was just having a rough day.

his heart breaks when he sees the kitten try his best to open the refrigerator door, attempting to grasp at the handle, but ultimately failing- which resulted in his whimpers. he's wiping harshly at his eyes, and that alone is enough for the older to break out of his thoughts. immediately, he runs over to this kitten, scooping him in his arms. seonghwa's heart breaks when the said kitten registers who's holding him and begins to flail his arms.

"kitten, it's only hwa, you're okay" he couldn't even hear himself for hongjoong's cries were becoming louder.

the younger let out pained whimpers, trying his best to escape the arms he was in. seonghwa sat on the floor, shock overcoming him out of his emotions.

"joongie, baby-"

"-wa 'ell..." hongjoong pushed himself out of arms that were holding him, covering his ears while backing away, hitting his back on the cabinet. the older could barely piece together what the kitten was blubbering out. he knew hongjoong was feeling too distressed to form any proper words.

seonghwa paused "...my sweet baby, hwa didn't mean to yell at you...i'm so sorry, bubba. hwa wasn't having a good day" his plea falls onto deaf ears as the kitten shakes his head, whimpering while doing so.

"hwa s'ary..." he placed his thumb into his mouth, his tail clutched tightly in his other hand.

seonghwa watched as the kitten rubbed his eyes, whining as he looks up at the fridge. he must've not had his bottle yet. when seonghwa stands up, hongjoong inches further away; curling in on himself (which makes seonghwa want to cry right then and there) he hates himself for yelling at hongjoong, resulting in the kitten to be afraid to be even near him. he knows that him yelling wasn't initially his fault, he was having the worst of the worst days, but it's not hongjoong's fault either; he's simply too young to understand what it's like in the real world (and he doesn't plan on showing him anytime soon)

"are you hungry, my sweet pea? hwa will get your bottle for you..." in a swift motion, he opens the door and grabs the bottle for the younger to take. hongjoong looks like he's contemplating his thoughts, eyes shifting from the bottle to seonghwa before taking the bottle and scooting back to his corner. seonghwa backs away giving the kitten his space, watching as he guzzles the bottle down in one swift motion.

when he's finished, he stares at the bottle for a brief second before his face crumbles, once again emitting loud mewls of distress. for the first time since he's known the kitten and has taken care of him, he has absolutely no idea what to do to soothe the distressed younger; he always calmed down once he was in seonghwa's arms, but what can he do when he refuses to even be near the older?

seonghwa knows he messed up big time...

"hongjoongie..." seonghwa's voice is low and soft "hwa is sorry that he yelled at you. hwa isn't mad at you, i promise. hwa just had a bad day..."

he feels tears form in his eyes as his attempt to calm down the younger was yet another failed one- the poor kitten curling in on himself, his tail gripped tightly inbetween his hands, his ears pressed down flat, and his doe-eyes watery and red. it reminds seonghwa of when he first brought hongjoong to his home. how he has that same fearful expression adorned on his face.

seonghwa sits on the kitchen floor next to sobbing hongjoong; even if the younger is scared, he would never leave his side. the pair stay like that for what feels like hours but is only minutes. he can see the kitten's eyes begin to droop. his hands unclench from his tail instead making grabby hands into the air.

the older stays still as he watches the younger crawl slowly into his lap, his loud mewls turning into hiccups when he finally feels the warm embrace coming from the older. seonghwa gently rubs his back in a circular motion, leaning his cheek on the top of his head.

"my poor kitten, i'm so sorry...hwa is so sorry for what he did..." he mumbles into the kitten's hair leaving a few kisses along with it

all the kitten could do was slump into the older's arms, remaining pliant in the hold. he was still shaken up from the events from earlier but nonetheless relied on the support and comfort seonghwa gave him. hongjoong let out a few sniffles here and there while he reached out for seonghwa's hand, nuzzling into it when the older complied.

"my sweet baby, are you here with me?"

hongjoong sat up to look into seonghwa's eyes, noticing that his eyes are wet and shiny like he has been crying. the kitten reached a hand up to wipe away the few tears that were streaming down. he looked puzzled. he's never seen seonghwa like this before. as he wipes away a tear, he lets out a small whimper.

"no 'ears hwa..." he holds his face in his cupped hands. seonghwa smiles softly at the gesture and turns his face around to place a kiss onto hongjoong's palm. "hwa is so sorry, baby..."

hongjoong's eyes furrow "for'ive my hwa...no more 'ears p'ease..."

seonghwa wraps his arms around the younger to which the latter is thankful for as he nuzzles into the comfort of his hwa. hongjoong still isn't sure of why seonghwa was in a bad mood but he does his best to think of all the times that he was in a bad mood himself and how grumpy he tends to get. he knows that whenever he is not in a good mood, his hwa always gives him plenty of affection and love; and that's exactly what is he doing now.

the pair sit on the kitchen floor for a little while longer before seonghwa decides it's time for the both of them to go back to the comfort of their bed. the older gently scoops up the kitten walking their way back to the bedroom. the younger lets out small purrs once he's nuzzled into his blanket. seonghwa accompanies him on the other side, watching as hongjoong does his best to cover the older with the comforter.

"thank you, my baby" he kisses his forehead as the kitten lets out more purrs.

hongjoong looks up at the older "hwa...i goo' boy to'ay"

seonghwa lets out a gasp "you were?! oh, my sweet precious kitten...hwa is so proud of you!" he presses kisses to the younger's face. hongjoong squeals in delight as he's showered with affection.

"did you open any of the doors? i know you're getting sneaky with that, kitten"

hongjoong smiled "no open 'oor hwa...i goo' boy!"

"alright..." seonghwa let out a content sigh "let's go to bed, lovebug" he hands the kitten his trusty pacifier and places one last kiss to his forehead.

hongjoong smiled as he nuzzled into his blanket. he wasn't going to tell hwa how he almost broke one of the vases trying to open the back door. and all because he saw another cat...

**Author's Note:**

> hello everyone!
> 
> i am back with another request! one-shot??? chapter?? idk what this would be called lol. also, i did delete my previous update but i do want everyone to know that i am doing much better than how i was previously. don't worry as i am not forcing myself to write and update (in fact, writing has become one of my interests) how was everyone's christmas?! what did you guys get for presents? my parents gifted me my own laptop so my motivation to write has definitely increased (as we all know typing on ao3 is a pain in the butt) i know i am a day late but i am in the works of planning a christmas one-shot!
> 
> thank you to all who show me (and my works) support. it really is what motivates me to write more. thank you and enjoy your holidays! be safe! ❤


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